Another vote for looking at Zoot. And also look at another tree-based organizer called MyNotesKeeper.
None of these has all the functionality of DT, but they have some of the same features.
You’ll be back after you realise how often you need support and how much that costs you… 
3 Likes
I’m enjoying this trend of people switching to Windows in a huff because it’s “fine now” and sneaking back weeks/months later once they’ve learned to more accurately measure the greenness of the grass. 
Zoot is great, complex software, though. I used it for years. My only concern is how well the solo developer has kept up lately.
2 Likes
2 Likes
Go back to Mac.
1 Like
Zotero will not work. It is not meant for this. It is meant to capture bibliographic data (title, author, publication, etc) especially when you are writing books, essays, journal papers and have to cite sources. It does support notes attached to each item but (a) it’s clunky and (b) everything is driven by bibliographic records. I depend on Zotero. But I also think of it as a companion to devonthink and scrivener and so forth, not a replacement.
OneNote is closer. And is really good. But it is designed to be more of a digital replacement, and extension, of a physical paper notebook. So you need to completely rethink what you would collect in it, how you organize it, and how you make that collection support your workflow.
They are both good tools. I use Zotero to support my writing. OneNote is excellent, but it’s designed from a totally different set of principles. That means it’s a great fit for some workflows and use cases, and a mediocre fit for others. I’d day it depends how you use DevonThink. There are certainly situations where OneNote could be better, but if you really like DT3 you are probably going to find it difficult to switch.
5 Likes
Basically you need to copy over everything to OneNote pages, PDF file contents et rest. And be locked down to that format with few options to export it, such as batch PDF file exports.
NB I use OneNote at work as it’s good for keeping track of project info I have no interest to export.
1 Like
It’s not one-to-one with DEVONthink’s feature set, but Notion is an exceptionally well done knowledge management webapp. I would go so far as to say that some of its features for structuring content are richer than what DEVONthink offers, though I mostly think of their feature sets as orthogonal.
I agree for smallish data sets.
Notion does not scale well. Uploading a large dataset can be a challenge, and when you do so it does not search or manipulate data anywhere nearly as well as DT3.
Hi Salvapost, I have decided to switch to Windows too. I use MacBook pro and also Windows10 PCs. I find it frustrating sometimes doing simple things in Mac that I do in Windows. File management, cut and paste etc to name one seem to be a little painful. (There may be simple answers to my small frustrations but I am not a Mac expert)
I had a couple of scares with DT2 when I could not open my database and the backup function was a bit daunting. Time Machine appears to be only way to backup but nothing within to backup DT2 database. I would have preferred this kind of option to backup than having to do the whole thing in TM.
Anyway when DT3 was released, I thought about looking at options and came up with FileCentre DMS
https://www.filecenterdms.com/ This product is by company called Lucion Technologies.
It runs on Windows platform, and uses Windows Explorer layout (not a database). I exported all my data with a few clicks and into FileCentreDMS. I am not sure it will be as good as DT but It seems to be quite fun using this application and I am enjoying it. I am just trialling with the free version and its early days yet but I might consider this instead of upgrading to DT3.
Lots of support/training videos on their site to check out.
Hope this helps!
2 Likes
Really it is a case of getting used to Mac’s slight differences in shortcuts etc. which I found happens quite quickly. During this emergency in Pennsylvania I am glad I have a Mac, my wife is an essential worker and has to use Windows. She was taking updates until really late last night on a laptop that is probably going to be needed and had been ‘neglected’ for a short time we pray it will function for at least two weeks; my Mac, for sure, will.
Cut and Paste is simple on Mac. I really can’t understand the problem? I have never found it painful? There is a copy and paste function and also a cut and paste: I think that has to be born in mind. Cut and paste usually is just Cmnd + x instead of the usual Cmnd + c for copy and paste. It is muscle memory for me and at least as easy as it was on Windows when I used it last.
2 Likes
I made the switch do a Dell XPS 15 about 6 months ago (well, I still have my 2019 MBP, but I use the Dell 99% of the time).
Unless you’re a REALLY hard-core DT user, Evernote should be what you’re looking at. For me, it works just fine.
If you are a power user of DT, then I don’t think you’re going to find a comparable solution.
Keith
This can be a helpful resource:
And in general:
2 Likes
Why if I may ask? What is the advantage as you see it. I appreciate some of us just have to use Windows for various reasons but why switch if there is not a work related reason or for one of the decreasing professional applications that are only available on Windows?
I really just don’t like the direction that Apple is (and has been) moving. I’ve been both a PC and Mac developer for over 25 years, and am comfortable in both environments. I’ve been using Apple computers before NeXT even existed and OS X wasn’t even an idea yet. Now, Apple wants to turn your $3k laptop into an iOS or iPadOS device.
The fact that most of us do almost all of our daily work in a web browser, the choice of an Operating System is just not that important anymore. And, I’ve gotten tired of paying the “apple tax”, even though I’m lucky enough to be able to afford it.
My 6-month-old 2019 MBP cost me a little over $3,000 out the door, with 16 GB ram and 512 SSD.
My 6-month-old Dell XPS 15 cost me around $1,800 with 32 GB of ram and a 1 TB SSD. Also has USB C, USB A, HDMI, and MicroSD ports. And a better screen than the MBP. (I bought an 8 GB/128GB and upgraded the ram/SSD myself).
People who bash Windows 10 really don’t use it much. I’ve never had a BSOD on Windows 10. Also, it’s not fair to compare a $3,000 MBP with a $500 Windows PC. Compare it with a Dell XPS 13 (I think the best mobile laptop on the market today), or a Dell XPS 15, or an Alienware or high-end HP. The prices may be close, but tomorrow I could open up my Dell and up the memory to 64 GB or swap out the SSD for a 2- or 4-TB drive. I’m locked in to what I’ve got with my MBP.
Also, the Finder is terribly out of date, file copies take FOREVER on the Mac (about 10 times slower than on my PC), etc. Not to mention the pile of stuff that Catalina is.
Overall, I just feel that Windows 10 has caught up to, and in some areas passed, MacOS. I’m not religious about it; I simply find that as of today I prefer booting up and using my Dell over my MBP.
Keith
ps: Anyone want to buy a MBP? 
1 Like
The fact that most of us do almost all of our daily work in a web browser
I would disagree with this generalization as we have a very broad and diverse clientele 
8 Likes
- I spend half of my time in Browser, half in custom apps.
- Windows hardware is nice, the UI is awkward to use.
- A similar spec:d Windows and Mac laptop are pretty much the same price, when we talk about decent Windows systems such as Dells.
- Finder copying is not slow, where did that come from? I spent time in the underlying code that does the copying in Finder and it’s optimized to nth degree.
- And yes, I use to drag the first 16.5 pound Mac laptop around, my back still remembers that.
1 Like
Most of us do our work in a web browser? Not if it’s complex work we don’t.
I’m an environmental science professor and consultant. I mainly use DT3, Tinderbox, Curio, Scrivener, PDF Expert, the MS suite, various statistics apps, and so many more. Most of these have zero counterparts in Windoze. My workflow is impossible on a PC. We have PCs in our classroom and they are absolutely horrid compared to Macs for efficiently getting work done.
6 Likes